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Kenyan lawmaker and her baby ousted from parliament session

Published Thu Aug 08 2019 07:26:43 GMT+0000 (UTC)

by Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Some Kenyan lawmakers are protesting a decision by the temporary speaker of parliament's lower house to eject their colleague who was holding her young child during a session of the legislature.

Zuleikha Hassan was ejected from the floor of the National Assembly on Wednesday with her 5-month-old baby.

Hassan, a mother of three, said she had to bring the baby to parliament because she wasn't able to make other arrangements and didn't want to miss work.

Christopher Omulele, temporary speaker of the National Assembly, said: "As much as she might want to take care of her child, this is not the place for it."

Parliament orderlies forced Hassan to leave the chamber.

Several legislators walked out of parliament to protest her ouster, which, coincidentally, happened during World Breastfeeding Week.